Growth kinetics and inhibition of growth of chemical vapor deposited thin tungsten films on silicon from tungsten hexafluoride

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Abstract
The growth kinetics and inhibition of growth of chemical vapor deposited thin W films on Si(100) from WF6 was studied with in situ growth stress and reflectivity measurements and ex situ weight gain measurements. A systematic series of experiments at varying WF6 flow, total pressure, and temperature show that the thickening kinetics and inhibition of the growth are controlled by two processes: WF6 diffusion through the gas phase and Si diffusion through the thickening columnar film. The steady state growth kinetics are controlled by WF6 diffusion in the gas phase whereas inhibition of the growth occurs at the transition from WF6 gas diffusion limited to Si solid state diffusion limited growth. A simple model based on WF6 gas phase diffusion and Si solid state diffusion is presented which gives a quantitative description of the experimental results.